


The Path Less Traveled

by goldfyshie927



Category: The Lost Legacy, Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Feels, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 15:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11946699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldfyshie927/pseuds/goldfyshie927
Summary: Nadine struggles with the aftermath of her adventures with Chloe and all that comes along with coming to terms with those feelings.





	The Path Less Traveled

“It’s been a wild ride, eh Ross?” Chloe said, bumping her shoulder gingerly against Nadine’s.

The few days they’d spent recuperating after they’d miraculously survived the excursion through the Halebidu and Belur ruins and the ensuing train ride - or crash - had done little to actually heal their aching bodies. They’d patched themselves up as best they could and then Chloe had racked out hard, sleeping for about 18 hours straight before waking up desperate for food and a stiff drink. Nadine had slept for a while herself, then created a small inventory log for all the trinkets Chloe had picked up along the way, while Samuel wandered the city by himself. 

Nadine smiled. “Something like that.” 

“You sure you don’t want to come along?” Chloe asked. “We can knock him out if need be.” Her smile was hopeful, her gray eyes soft as they searched Nadine’s for an answer. 

Samuel Drake stood a few feet away, negotiating cab fare very unfairly with a cab driver. Nadine had half a mind to pay the fare herself, just to spare the cabbie the indignity of accepting a lower payment than he was worth. 

“Ja. I have some loose ends I need to tie up before I make any more plans. Lots to take care of.” Nadine felt the regret, like a hard knot in her chest, even as she spoke the words. 

Chloe nodded, but the wrinkle between her eyebrows spoke volumes. “Don’t be a stranger, yeah?”

Nadine dipped her head once in a quick nod, averting her eyes. “You too. You have my number still. Just, uh, give me a call if you need something.” 

Before losing her nerve, she reached out and pulled Chloe close for a brief hug, releasing her almost as quickly as she had embraced her. As her arms dropped to her sides, Chloe gently grabbed her wrists, then pulled her back in. 

Nadine stifled a sigh.

This was a hug. 

One of Chloe’s arms slid around Nadine’s shoulder, the other underneath her arm, and she tightened them until the women were chest to chest. Nadine could feel Chloe’s warm breath against the skin of her neck and could smell the scent of the hotel shampoo in her hair. She didn’t hold her too tight - it didn’t feel demanding, the way so many embraces had felt before from other people who wanted things from her she wasn’t sure she wanted to give. It was warm, it felt foreign and familiar at the same time, and she never wanted Chloe to let go. 

But let go she did, and Nadine once again stifled a sigh, this time a sigh of regret. 

“Be safe,” Chloe said with a soft smile, then picked her bag up and moved towards the waiting cab. 

Nadine nodded to no one as she watched Chloe walk away, then half heartedly waved goodbye to Samuel who was saying something unintelligible through the closed window. To be honest, she wasn’t wholly sure where she was heading, only that it hadn’t felt right to go with Chloe and Samuel quite yet. Partly because it was Samuel Drake and she wasn’t ready to forget everything that had happened with him. But also, because she knew she had shit to work out and didn’t want to haul that baggage along with her every step of the way. 

Nadine slung her bag across her back and turned away, willing her feet to start moving. 

This was best. This is how it should be. Alone and free of ties to anything or anyone. Emotional attachment would get you killed and Nadine had learned that hard truth early on. But she couldn’t ignore the slight ache that radiated from somewhere in the vicinity of her sternum. It irritated her, the way every part of her screamed for her to turn around, run back to the cab that was just now pulling away from the curb, and tell Chloe she’d had a change of heart and needed to be where Chloe was, wherever that might be. She’d take a backseat, shut her mouth and just come along for the ride, as long as it was with the frustratingly enigmatic women she had just walked away from. 

Nadine decided her best course of action now would be to head home for rest and some much needed decision making. She hailed a cab of her own which whisked her away from the market, away from the Hoysala fortresses and temples, and back to reality. When she finally collapsed into her seat on the plane, her head had begun to ache and she willed herself to relax enough to - hopefully - fall asleep for the duration of the flight. 

As the captain took to the intercom to update them on flight times and weather conditions, Nadine shut her eyes and let her mind roam. It wandered all over the city, the Western Ghats, among the trees and waterfalls. She let herself soak in the memory of Chloe standing in awe at the gates of Halebidu, her eyes had carried the slightest bit of sadness at the sight her father had chased for so long. She remembered the way it felt for her fist to connect to Chloe’s jaw, how her knuckles had hurt but her anger hurt even more. She thought of the jokes they’d shared, the times tears had forced their way into her eyes each time Chloe willingly stepped up as sacrifice for herself and others. Nadine’s mind wandered to the countless times she’d seen Chloe fall, near misses every few steps, how she’d bled and limped and ached her way through the jungle and runaway train, just to save a city full of people she didn’t know and didn’t owe anything to. 

“Miss?” a quiet voice interrupted Nadine’s thoughts. Her eyes flew open and she looked up to the flight attendant who was watching her, concern furrowing her brow. 

“Are you alright? Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?” 

Nadine felt irritation and confusion. Why was she being asked about her comfort? A warm wetness slid down her neck then and she reached up to wipe it away.

A tear. 

She didn’t even realize she’d been crying. 

“No. I’m alright. Just been a long few days,” Nadine responded gruffly. 

The flight attendant smiled kindly, then gestured to Nadine’s lap. “I’m afraid I need to ask you to buckle your safety belt, miss. We’re about to take off.” 

Nadine did as requested and soon they were racing down the runway and taking off into the night sky. The plane was blessedly quiet and Nadine wanted sleep, just a long and blessed sleep. She was obviously overly tired and her emotions were rising to the surface due to her exhaustion. 

As Nadine shifted in her seat to get comfortable, she bit her lip to stifle a groan. She hurt all over, down to her toes. She needed pain killers, something to take the edge off so she could finally fall asleep. Leaning down, she pulled her bag out from underneath the seat and rifled around inside of it for the small bottle she knew was inside. As her hands moved around in the dim light, her fingertips grazed an unfamiliar item. Curling her fingers around the strange shape, she pulled it from her bag and lifted it into the light. 

It was a small, decorative butterfly box, no bigger than the palm of her hand. She recognized it immediately. She’d spent hours creating the inventory log for all of the small trinkets and treasures Chloe had found during their time exploring. This was just one of many small but priceless items she’d collected to sell later for profit. Nadine’s mind fell back to the conversation they’d had when Chloe had finally woken up from her endless sleep.

_ “You want that one?” Chloe’s voice came from across the room. It was sleep warmed and lower than normal, and Nadine’s heart beat out of time at the sound. It also startled Nadine, who sat admiring the small trinket.  _

_ “This?” Nadine asked, holding the tiny box up into the light. It was beautiful, she couldn’t deny that. “What would I need this for?”  _

_ Chloe stood and stretched, then grimaced at the pain that came along with the movement. “You don’t have to need something to want it, you know. Sometimes things are just things and we keep them because they’re beautiful. Not everything has to have a purpose.”  _

_ Nadine turned it over in her fingers, appreciating the way the light seemed to catch the inlaid stones, almost lighting up the decorative carving and stonework. After a moment, she set it down and wrote the boxes details onto her log.  _

_ “No. You found it. You earned it.” Her voice rang with finality and Chloe didn’t argue, for once.  _

Somehow, Chloe had snuck the box into her bag. Nadine’s heart lurched, her throat tightened. This wasn’t a mistake. Chloe hadn’t just left this behind, not with the way she’d painstakingly packed up all the spoils of their adventure.  

“Shit,” Nadine whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. She was definitely tired. She hadn’t felt this emotional since… well, ever. It was exhaustion, plain and simple. Anything else was too much for her to process and she didn’t have the willpower or energy to try and sort out something so complicated. 

“Sleep,” she mumbled to herself, her tired eyes tracing the pattern of stones on the lid of the box. “I need sleep.”

Her eyes grew heavy and soon she fell into a fitful sleep full of nightmarish images, images that were far too similar to the scenes she’d been too close to witnessing while on this journey: Chloe slipping off the edge of a cliff, her fingers failing as she clung to the side of a rock face, a stray bullet ripping through her torso, the life fading from her eyes as Asav’s fingers curled tighter and tighter around her neck. Nadine was too late to help her, every single time. On and on they went, for hours, until the sound of the pilot announcing their descent finally pushed through Nadine’s subconscious and roused her from her dreams. She was even more tired than before. 

Coming home filled her with heavy dread. Shoreline was a disaster. She had ties to sever and needed to figure out what her next move should be. Although Chloe had called her partner, Nadine couldn’t imagine she actually wanted to invest in a business plan together. They were like oil and water. Chloe was all about improvisation and Nadine needed a plan. It was a major miracle that they had survived their brief partnership. And there was something between them, a sort of emotional weight that Nadine was too afraid to delve into right now. It scared her and thrilled her at once. 

Days passed and Nadine fought to stay her course, to concentrate on the tasks at hand, but Chloe rose unbidden to the surface of her thoughts constantly, and more often than not Nadine found herself, eyes unfocused, as she imagined what Chloe must be doing right now. She pictured her tucking stray hairs behind her ears as she spoke to strangers, excitement coloring her voice, even as she managed to maintain that cool facade of hers. She wondered if Chloe was in the middle of planning a new adventure, or if she was taking the time needed to recuperate from this one. She imagined Chloe spending time with Samuel Drake, eating dinner with him, drinking beers and laughing at his asinine jokes. The thought made her frown. 

One day, weeks after she returned home, when Nadine had finally been able to push Chloe to the back of her mind - at least most of the time - she came home to a large padded envelope. No return address was listed and Nadine’s lips pressed together as she eyed it suspiciously. She lifted it from the floor where it landed after being slid through her mail slot in the front door and gently pressed her fingers into it. Whatever was inside was flat and Nadine decided it probably wasn’t a bomb. She sliced through the paper envelope carefully then turned it over and allowed the contents to slide out onto the table. She slowly spread them out across the table, trying to process what she was seeing. It took a moment before what was in front of her made sense. 

Pictures. 

All pictures of Nadine. 

A picture of her standing on top of a monument, balancing on the narrow stone structure.

One of the gray langur jumping onto her head.

Another of her holding the mirror when she helped Chloe solve the light puzzle.

And then there were pictures she didn’t know were taken - Nadine perusing a vendor’s stall in the market, talking to Meenu, laughing loudly with her head thrown back and her grin wide and unashamed, reading a book in their small hotel room, sleeping soundly… picture after picture that Chloe managed to take without Nadine ever realizing. 

And the last one in the pile was a picture Chloe had insisted on taking, forcing the phone into Sam’s hand to take a photo of herself and Nadine holding the tusk of Ganesh just before they handed it over to the Ministry of Culture. 

No one had ever taken so many pictures of Nadine before, not even family. 

She sat back in her chair, her fingertips grazing the glossy surface of the photos, and tried to figure out what exactly she was feeling. Something warm and bright and oddly soothing radiating from the center of her chest outward. Her lips curled into a small smile, and suddenly, Nadine knew what she had to do. The path in front of her was laid out so clear, so brightly lit, she was a little surprised she didn’t see it before. Without second thought, Nadine gathered up the pictures, moved to the other room to pluck the little butterfly box and shove it into a bag along with a few days worth of clothes. She tapped a number into her phone, than hailed a cab as it rang. 

“‘Ello?” came a groggy voice on the other end as Nadine climbed inside the waiting taxi. 

Nadine’s stomach flipped and she didn’t even try to fight the answering smile. “Did I wake you?”

Chloe’s low chuckle came through the phone and caused a stutter in Nadine’s chest. “No… well, yes. But that’s alright. Always glad to hear from my partner.” 

“Is that still on?” Nadine asked. The ride was quiet for a moment as she waited for Chloe’s answer.

“Always.”

“Good. Then I’m coming to you,” Nadine said, no hesitation in her voice. She’d never felt more sure of a plan in her life. 


End file.
